The return of Rollins has been appreciated but was it the right call to make? A crowd favorite Styles lost to Roman again. Clean! The main event did seem to be very entertaining but it was not booked to perfection. There were flaws in it and I am going to shed some light on them. I am not much of a critic so this is just my views and I am going to provide the alternative too and discuss the aftermath.
The ‘new-era’ of the WWE has kicked off. Though the writers have worked hard to create some mouth-watering storylines, the arrival of NXT superstars has been the key really. Be it the charismatic team of Enzo and Cass or the chemistry of Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. NXT has it all. Some may not agree with me here as the booking of Apollo Crews and Baron Corbin has been an underwhelming experience.
Crews made his debut right after Mania in front of a ‘crazy’ crowd in Dallas, as Vince would describe them. Though it was nice to see Crews fight with an incredible combination of strength and agility but it should have been a one-off thing as his character still need development.On the other hand Corbin has been in the NXT for a considerable amount of time now. Though he has been booked strongly but on the cost of Dolph Ziggler.
A crowd favorite Ziggler has been booked so bad after that Survivor Series match in 2014 that the crowd has started to lose interest in his feuds. WWE did entice the hardcore fans when they allowed Ziggler to share the ring with Tripple H before wrestlemania 32. But as it turned out, it did no favors to him and was done with a sole purpose of making HHH look strong for his bout against Roman Reigns. Damn! I was all giddy.
Anyways, coming back to the point, the return of the prodigal son has been a blessing for a falling company. Shane McMahon has not only made WWE interesting, it has also allowed Vince a breather for the time being. But his stay may be shorter than expected as the writers have started following the same old route again.The debuts of ‘Anderson & Gallows’ was supposed to create a buzz. It did on some level.
But the past couple of weeks have not been good for such a brawny tag-team.They have lost to The USO’s multiple times prior to Extreme Rules. They have gained some momentum by beating them with ease at the PPV itself but they deserve better.
Now that AJ has told them on the latest episode of Monday night RAW, that they need to part ways. WWE can book them as a proper tag team. They showed that in NJPW that they are the best one can offer and they need to show it in WWE. But they could not do so if Vince’s “Project-Roman Reigns” was not going to take a bump or two. Roman Reigns and AJ Styles have been fighting against each other for the past couple of months now. They were in the main-event of Extreme Rules.
The most probable outcome was Roman retaining the Championship. But the real question was how?
AJ defeated Roman not once but twice in that match at Payback. However, on both occasions the match was re-started by courtesy of McMahon siblings and finally Roman speared Styles for a three count. The writers did a good job there as AJ looked strong. Now at Extreme Rules, Roman retained the title. Like it or not, it is what should have happened.
Vince wants Roman to be the top-guy and he can not just delay the title run every time. He did so at Mania 31 against Brock Lesnar and due to the same he is already a 3-time champ now. Though there have been rumors of Vince getting tired of the jeers Reigns is receiving all the time but they just rumors for now.
So let’s look at some of the flaws in the PPV’s main even that has already taken place.
A short title run for AJ may sound good but it would have only lowered his value. So if Roman was going to win how WWE should have done that? Was beating Styles clean again the right call? WWE clearly went for it. Roman speared Styles in mid-air and got him again. The company knew fans would not have liked it and they did not. As the fans are never shy to voice their opinions, they did not back away this time also. The jeers were loud and clear. The message to WWE was clear that they can not shove Roman down their throats like that. This is the flaw number one!
Styles is too talented to be wasted like this. He has fought all over the world. He may not be the best on the mic but he is certainly a gifted ring worker indeed. Roman kicked out of 2 Styles-Clashes. This says it all. It is a finisher which was not frequently used by AJ so as to create an aura of it own and to add to his misery he delivered on of them on a steel chair. Although, WWE gave some respect to the steel chair by having one of the USO brother to hold onto Styles for a moment and Michael Cole tried his “best” to sell that moment by saying it was just enough to allow Roman to kick out.
The company diverted the attention from that match-up towards a returning Seth Rollins. Rollins return was much anticipated. So much, that the fans were chanting “We want Rollins” every now and then during the PPV. The return of the former member of the shield has certainly been received well. But it seemed a bit rushed. So it is the flaw number two. The return of a superstar of such caliber had to be booked well. Even though the fans cheered for him, it was not what the storyline required. This is the new-era and things need to be that way too. So instead to diverting the hate towards Reigns into the cheers towards Rollins. The company had to do what’s necessary. And that was..
HEEL TURN:
Roman desperately needs the heel turn and it’s ‘best for business’. He is not a tweener as WWE is trying to project him from the past couple of months with the cliche “I am not a good guy, I am not a bad guy! I am just THE GUY.” even when he said this phrase for the first time, the crowd cheered for him unexpectedly. But what he probably did not realize is that they cheered when he said ‘Come on,I am not a bad guy’ the phrase most of the heels would use. They thought he had turned heel by spearing Stephanie.
But sadly, the writers had something of in between for him. Let’s face it! Roman is not good with microphone. He has tried his level best and he is not able to connect with the crowd. However , he is a much improved wrestler than he was a couple of years ago. He failed horribly with the babyface run and witty lines. The audience practically begged him for the heel turn many times but it never came.
WWE teased heel turns both by Styles and Roman but none of them turned. Roman has been booked to ‘crawl’ towards the dark side. The shades were there to be seen when he ‘accidentally’ speared Stephanie. Then Bray and Roman teaming up at RAW and it seemed enticing when in the final moments of the match, Bray pointed towards Sheamus and Roman took him out with a spear. The evidence was there to be seen when he delivered a low-blow to AJ ‘accidentally’ again. But now it should have come. It was high time and they just can not drag it any longer until Summerslam which by the way is what WWE is planning to, by having him face the superman himself, John Cena.
Roman must have used some heel tactics against Styles at the PPV or he could have gone full-on beast mode on everyone. A low blow to AJ or he could have attack the ref even ,thereby ending the match up with DQ and standing tall to the bunch of boos in the end. He could have enjoyed it then. It would have been like he wants the crowd to jeer him and he would have got that. The heel turn would have allowed Shane to grant AJ another re-match at Money in the Bank. The final chapter of their feud should have been written at MITB and it would have be the fitting time for.. ;)
The Demon arrives:
A lot of the people know that Finn Balor, Anderson/Gallows and AJ have history. But for those of you who do not have any idea, I am going to summarize it for you. Back in Japan, Finn Balor used to wrestle under the ring name Prince Devitt. He formed a heel stable along with Karl Anderson and named it “THE BULLET CLUB”. Prince gained popularity and the club started to expand. After the club won a few titles, Finn left for NXT and thereby making Karl the new boss. AJ Styles took over the club along with Anderson right after Finn left. Later when AJ was to join WWE along with Anderson and Gallows, the club along with them turned on Styles and chose Kenny Omega as their new leader.
So now that WWE had formed their own form of “THE CLUB”, stage was set for Balor to claim something he created. Imagine at Money in the Bank, AJ and Roman are tearing each other apart. Even after draining 30 minutes fight and no one is ready to give up. With Anderson and Gallows in AJ’s corner and the Uso’s in Reign’s Corner. Roman hits AJ with a superman punch in a flash and is about to go for the spear and just when he starts running in.. Balor’s Music hits!
He starts attacking the Uso’s and seeing that Anderson and Gallows join him too. Then he turns his attention to Roman and attacks him too along with them. Finally, he delivers Coup-de-grace on him. And just when Styles comes back into the ring looking all confused, Balor looks at Anderson and Gallows and without saying a word, they turn on AJ and start attacking him. Finally, Balor delivers the killer blow on AJ by stomping on him too. The PPV ends with three of them raising their one hand in the air like they a doing in the above picture.
